Improvement in mail-bag catchers



n F. HioTcvHIfrIss.

MAIL-BAG CATCHER.

lunas'meclv Nov. z, 1875.

N.1el9,545.

lum g N.PETERS. PHOT0-LITHOGRAPMER WASH NGTON D C Um'rnn Smyrne PATENT Oia-rica EDGAR HOTOHKISS, OF UNADILLA FORKS, NEW YORK.

IMPROVEMENT IN MAIL-BAG CATCHERS.

Specication forming partV of Letters Patent NolV 169,545, dated November 2, 1875; application led October 18, 1875.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDGAR F. Ho'rcHKIss, of Unadilla Forks, in the county of Otsego and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Devices for Receiving and'Delivering Mail-Bags; and I do hereby declare the following to be a 'ull, clear, and exact description ofthe same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification, in which- Figure lis a longitudinal vertical section of the mail-car, showing the bags and their sn pport in elevation; Fig. 2, a transverse vertical section of the car, showing the bag-support partly in elevation, and partly in section and Fig. 3 is a pla-n, showing about one-half of the roof of a mail-car constructed with my im provenients.

Similar letters of reference in the accompanying drawings denote the same parts.

'This invention relates to that class of devices which are employed to receive mail-bags from, or deliver them to, railroad-cars when in motion; and its object is, first, to render the operation of such devices uniform and certain, however the cars may vary in height; and, secondly, to prevent any violent concussion of the bag, and consequent injury to it or its contents.

To these ends the invention consists, iir'st, in inclining downward the adjustable oscillating arm ofthe bag-support, so that it' Vthe car isa little too high or low it will not breal'said arm, but will raise it, and cause it to present the bag properly to the reeeiving-oritice,`l secondly, in vcombining with said downwardlyinclined arm of the bag-support a peculiarlyformed car-roof, for the purpose of directing the bag toward the center of the receivingoritice by the same movement that raises the arm to adjust it to the height of the car; thirdly, in a new mode of taking the bag from its support-to wit, by severing its supporting cord or cords, and allowing it to drop by its own gravity upon the receiving iioor or surface-in contradistinction 4to the old mode of stripping or sliding the bag and its supportin g-cords from the supporting-arm; and, lastly, in the various mechanical devices and combi' nations, not specially set forth above, which produce or contribute to the results to be aci complished, as I will now proceed to describe.

In the drawings, the bag-support appears at one side of the car, and consists of the arm B, with any suit-able means of supporting, raising, lowering, and adjusting it; but I prefer to attach the arm B, by means of a sleeve-V socket, O, to a` piece of gas-pipe or tubular standard, D, supported on a post, A, and provided With a cord, c, pulley d, and adjustableV or midway between the sides of the roof,.,or``

extending clear across from side to side, as may be preferred by dierent constructors. At a suitable point, preferably midway between the ends of the car, the continuity of the passage-Hoor is broken by a well or chamber, H, the function of which is to receive and hold the mails. The bottom of the well or chamber H is grated, as shown at K, to pery mit the escape of snow, water, dust,`&c. A

false bottom, J, similarly grated, may be arranged on a spring 'or springs, i, within Athe chamber, to prevent the concussion of the bags as they drop into the chamber. Where,

for anyreason, the distance is short from the end of the car to the mouth of the receivingchamber H, a hinged brake, L, composed, pref-` erably, of lingers, as shown in Fig. 2, and pro-f "vided with a spring',`l, to give it sutlicient resistance, may be employed, `to assist the floor in taking up the momentum of the bag.` VThe ends ofthe car-roet are provided with cuttingedges g g, preferably' of steel, for the purpose of severing the cordsm m, which connect the Abag M to its supporting-arm. These cuttingedges are, preferably, arranged obliquely toV the direction of the movement of the car, so

as to operatewith a drawing cutf on the strings; and the best mode ot' arranging them is to form at each side of the middle line of the car, at each end of the car, a deep notch or recess, g', which may vbe of triangular or lother suitable shape, and attaching the cut-` ting-edge thereto or forming it thereon, one

line of the cutting-edge g g. The bag should be hung 10W enough to properly enter the receiving-passage of the lowest or most heavily loaded car, and the inclination ot' the arm B should be such that the cuttingfedge of the highest or lightest car Will strike the inclined part ef the arm. Whatever may be the height of ythe car, therefore, the edge of the car-roof Will not strike the bag nor zbreak the arm B,

but will either strike thel cords m, in the rst l instance, or Will strike the arm B and slide along under it, Vgradually raising the bag till the lcords come exactly in thel proper position to be severed Vwhen reached. The notches g Will'he observed 'to perform a peculiar function when thus coming in contact With the inclined arm B, since they deilect suchl arm laterally till it is exactly in line with the angle 4ori'deepest part of the notch, where the cords can be most easily severed, 'andwhen the bag is most certain to properly fall on 'the hoor beneath it.

- The major portion of the above description is applicable vparticularly to the construction of that 'form of apparatus which is to deliver mail matter to the cars, and it must be some- Whatrnodied when employed to deliver such matter from the cars. In the latter case the bagsupport will beattached to the car, and the vreceivingpassage G, with its roof and cutting-edges, will be arranged in a convenient bnilding at the side of the track. Such other modifications as Will be desirable in suchf case Will readily suggest themselves to the mind of the constructor, as they involve merely mechanical skill and judgment, and not invention.` The mail-bags, Whether delivered to or from the cars, should preferably be suspended ina horizontal position, as shown in Fig. l.

One great advantage of my new mode of severing the bag-strings instead of sweeping the bag along to the end of its supporting-arm is, that it reduces to a minimum the violence ofthe impact or shock when the bag comes in contact With the receiving apparatus. Heretofore the entire momentum of the car was in'- stantly imparted tov the bag, or the Whole momentum 'of the bag was instantly arrested; but by my plan the momentum is not affected by the severing of the bag from its support, but is gradually taken up or imparted by the friction of the bag on the door of the passage'.

Neither the bag nor its contents are thus lia= ble to be injured, r

It is evident that packages of almost any character, which can be supported from the arm B'byv suspending-cords, may be delivered to or received from railway-cars by my improved apparatus Without liability to inj nry, and the floor of the receiving-flue may be adapted to the receptionv of such other articles than mail-bags, according to the character of the article to be received thereon.

Having thus described my invention, What I claim as new is- 1. In a bag-supporter for delivering mail-bags to or from railroad-cars in motion, a vertically and laterally adjustable bag-supporting arm,

`line of the bag-receiver, and then inclining purpose described.

`2.,An apparatus for delivering bags and other packages to, or receiving them from, rail- Way-cars in motion, having a support from which the bag is suspended by cords,.and a cutting-edge operated by the power of the moving carfor severing. said suspending-cords 'at the yproper moment, and allowing themto drop upon or into the receptacle prepared for them, substantially as described.

porting arm B and the hue-roof, having the notch or notches g, With edges adapted to sever the cords that support the bag or pack- `age, substantially as described. v

4. In an apparatus for receiving and delivering bags and packages from and to railwayycars in motion, the flue Gr, combined With a purpose described.

In an apparatus for receiving and delivering bags and packages from and to railwayarranged substantially as described.

v(i. In an apparatus for receiving and delivering bags and packages from and to railwaycars in motion, the combination of the chamber H, having a grated bottom and a spring false bottom, with the hue G, substantially as described. i

7. In an apparatus for receiving and delivering bags and packages from and to railwaycars in motion, the receiving flue or ues Gr, having their roof' provided with a cutting edge or edges, and having the hoor of the` passage projecting beyond said cutting edge or edges, substantially as and for the purposes herein set forth.

E. F. -HGTCHKISS Witnesses JAMES L. NoRRIs,

Jos. L. GooMBs.

B, extending from the post outward to thedownvvard in a direction longitudinal with the` railroad-track, substantially as and for the.

3; The combination of the inclined bag-sup- :spring-brake, L, substantially as and for the.

cars in motion, the iue Gr and receiving-chaml ber H, having a grated bottom, combined and 

